The Golden Retriever is a breed of dog, historically developed as a gundog to retrieve shot waterfowl and upland game and lame hens during hunting. As such they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and an instinctive love of water. Their intelligence and versatility sees them employed in a variety of roles including illegal drug detection, search and rescue, as hunting dogs and as guide dogs.

The Types

British type

This type is bigger-boned, shorter, with a more square head and or muzzle and are generally slightly heavier. Males should be between 56–61 centimeters (22–24 in) at the withers and females slightly shorter at between 51–56 centimeters (20–22 in). The eyes of the European type are noted for their roundness and darkness as contrasted with the triangular or slanted composition of their American counterparts.

A Golden Retriever of British breeding can have a coat color of any shade of gold or cream; however, red or mahogany are not permissible colors. Originally cream was not an acceptable color in the UK standard; however, by 1936 the standard was revised to include cream. It was felt this exclusion was a mistake as the original "yellow" retrievers of the 19th century were lighter in color than the then current standard permitted. As with American lines, white is an unacceptable color in the show ring. The British KC standard is used in all countries with the exceptions of the US and Canada. Some breeders of this type in America may import their dogs to improve the temperament and health noted in those bloodlines . The incidence of cancer among English bloodlines is significantly less than is seen in the American lines.

Canadian type

The Canadian Golden Retriever is a newer type of Golden. Appearance is meant to be similar to the American type in height and weight, .

with a light coat color. Color is described as not as light as a British type, and not as dark as an American type.Field line Golden Retrievers tend to be smaller and have a less dense coat than their conformation line counterparts, and they are usually darker in color

Coat and color

As indicated by their name, their coat comes in light golden colors to dark golden colors.The Labrador Retriever is a double coat breed. The outer coat is straight, short, very dense, and hard in texture. The under coat is soft, weather-resistant, and protects this breed from cold, all types of ground cover, and water. The color of the coat comes in chocolate, black, and yellow. This breed is an average shedder.

Character

The Labrador Retriever is medium in size, strong, athletic, and well balanced. They are friendly, outgoing, and possess an extremely sweet personality.

There are two types of Labrador: The American, which is tall and lanky, and the English, which is more thick and heavy. This sporting breed is adept at hunting and retrieving. Labrador Retrievers are revered as companions and highly respected for their loving nature.

TemperamentThis breed is highly intelligent, loyal, and deeply devoted. The Labrador Retriever is reliable, affectionate, and thrive on human companionship and attention. They are absolutely wonderful with children and get along exceedingly well with other dogs. They may be reserved with strangers and make good watchdogs. If this breed is left alone for extended periods of time without attention or stimulation they will become lonely, bored, and destructive.

Their trusting, gentle disposition therefore makes them a poor guard dog. Any form of unprovoked aggression or hostility towards either people, dogs or other animals, whether in the show ring or community, is completely unacceptable in a Golden Retriever and is not in keeping with the character of the breed and as such is considered a serious fault. Nor should a Golden Retriever be unduly timid or nervous.The typical Golden Retriever is calm, naturally intelligent and biddable, with an exceptional eagerness to please Golden Retrievers are also noted for their intelligence and can learn up to roughly 240 commands, words and phrases. These dogs are also renowned for their patience with children.By the time they reach maturity however, Goldens will have become active and fun-loving animals with the exceptionally patient demeanor befitting a dog bred to sit quietly for hours in a hunting blind. Adult Golden Retrievers love to work, and have a keen ability to focus on a given task. They will seemingly work until collapse, so care should be taken to avoid overworking them.Other characteristics related to their hunting heritage are a size suited for scrambling in and out of boats and an inordinate love for water. Golden Retrievers are exceptionally trainable—due to their intelligence, athleticism and desire to please their handlers—and generally excel in obedience trials. In fact, the first AKC Obedience Trial Champion was a Golden Retriever. They are also very competitive in agility and other performance events. Harsh training methods are unnecessary as Golden Retrievers often respond very well to positive and upbeat training styles.Golden Retrievers are compatible with children and adults and are good with other dogs, cats and most livestock. Golden Retrievers are particularly valued for their high level of sociability towards people, calmness, and willingness to learn. Because of this, they are commonly used as guide dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and search and rescue dogs. They are friendly and tend to learn tricks easily.They are also known to become excellent surrogate mothers to different species. Kittens and even tiger cubs from zoos are well taken care of by golden retrievers. In some cases, a retriever may produce milk for its adopted even though it may not have been pregnant or nursing recently

Health

The median life span for Golden Retrievers is approximately 10 to 12 years. They do very well in small living areas of at least 500 sq. feet. While the breed is recognized for its vitality, many retrievers are susceptible to specific ailments. A responsible breeder will proactively minimize the risk of illness by having the health of dogs in breeding pairs professionally assessed and selected on the basis of complementary traits.

Breeding Golden Retrievers can be profitable for puppy mills and backyard breeders. As a result of careless breeding for profit, Goldens are prone to genetic disorders and other diseases. Hip dysplasia is very common in the breed; when buying a puppy in the US the parents should be examined by the OFA or by PennHIP for hip disease

The Golden Retriever's eagerness to please has made them consistent, top performers in the obedienceand agility rings. Plus with their excellent swimming ability they are great at dock jumping. Their natural retrieving ability also sees them excel in flyball and field trials.The first three dogs ever to achieve the AKC Obedience Champion title were Golden Retrievers; the first of the three was a female named Ch. Moreland's Golden Tonka